How the program is run
Université Paris Dauphine – PSL has designed this applied research training program to run over 288 hours (excluding supervision provided by thesis advisors), combining in-person and online teaching, in order to provide robust support to students. The Executive PhD program takes place over 3 years (it is possible to do a 4th year, or even a 5th, under certain circumstances). It is structured around 3 seminar types.
- The 1st year is focused on the precise formulation of a problem, and theoretical frameworks (through modules taught at the University), which will lead to participants developing a scientifically valid project.
- From the 2nd year onwards, the seminar content becomes more in-depth, giving students the skills and knowledge to devise and implement a field study approach.
- The 3rd and following years are dedicated to finalizing the empirical work and writing the Executive PhD thesis.
Program
Core curriculum theory to enable students to grasp the fundamentals of Management Science theories16 days
- Organizational theory
- Reflection on the concept of performance
- 7 elective seminar topics to choose from (7 days)
Including: Management of innovation, Cultural approaches, Relational approaches, Business models, etc.
Research Methodology16 days
- Research Design
- Epistemology
- Qualitative Methodologies
- Quantitative Methodologies
Practical workshops to decode issues and research tools16 days
- Research practices
- Writing seminars
- Group tutorials
In addition to this teaching, the program also includes: :
- Lectures : prior to the start of the program, there will be a series of mandatory lectures, to prepare participants to join the program. Throughout the program, participants’ work is punctuated by lectures, to enhance these sessions and ensure in-depth reflection on the different aspects participants will need to master (methodologies, theories, research practices, and so on), as well as to feed into the development and implementation of their research project.
- 5 interim reports/presentations are required for the Executive PhD, as participants progress towards the thesis pre-defense: specified research project; literature review and research design; empirical study and data analysis, thesis pre-defense and subsequent thesis pre-defense follow-up.
- Writing and defending of the Executive PhD thesis, once research tools have been fully grasped.
The Executive PhD thesis
To gain the Executive PhD, participants are required to present and defend an Executive PhD thesis. This is a scientific output, the subject of which is often linked to the participant’s experience and areas of interest. As such, it is based on scientific knowledge developed through academic research, an empirical study that uses appropriate research methodology, and meets all standards of scientific rigor. The Executive PhD thesis consists of one or more documents, which together constitute an original piece of world-class research.
Unlike a doctoral thesis, the Executive PhD thesis is primarily focused on applied research. The Executive PhD thesis must therefore provide an answer to a management problem, applying the most relevant concepts and theories to the problem at hand. The Executive PhD thesis is fully in line with the idea of Engaged Scholarship (Andrew H. Van de Ven, 2007)advocated by the EDBA Council, the international organization that provides a central point of reference for executive doctoral programs across the world and ensures they meet the required levels of quality and excellence.
In addition, graduates of the Dauphine-PSL Executive PhD have, together with the program supervisors, founded the Center for Engaged Management Research (CEMR), the goal of which is to facilitate the continued work of all Dauphine-PSL Executive PhD graduates, as well as to help ensure the visibility of their work and publications.
The starting point for developing the Executive PhD thesis is to identify a management problem. Therefore, in addition to the requirements in relation to theoretical frameworks and scientific rigor that are typical of any thesis, whether it be a doctoral or Executive PhD thesis, the Executive PhD thesis places an emphasis on the managerial and societal contributions of the research.
Through writing an Executive PhD thesis, students will develop high-level capabilities, enabling them to translate a management problem related to areas such as Strategy, Management, Finance, Human Resources, Marketing and IT, into a research problem. They will explore and harness existing knowledge in the field of Organizational Sciences (Management, Sociology, Psychology, Economics, and so on), and they will design and implement an empirical study that will ultimately enable them to develop an original model for understanding and resolving the problem. The skills acquired through researching and writing the Executive PhD thesis are ones that students can apply to a wide range of situations, whether that be day-to-day management situations, decision-making, or to disseminate the knowledge gained through the research work.
The quality of an Executive PhD thesis relies on not only the strength of the theoretical frameworks applied and the robustness of the methods used, but also on the author’s own experience and access to new terrain to be explored. The rigor and capabilities of the participants are the determining factors when it comes to the level of success throughout the process.
Learn more about the research work and the Executive PhD and EDBA theses undertaken by Université Paris Dauphine-PSL students and graduates
View Kim Hurtta’s EDBA thesis defense (class 9): Digital Innovation in Public Service Ecosystem - Enacting the Generative Affordance..
Executive DBA thesis defended publicly on 25 October 2018 at Université Paris Dauphine – PSL.
Thesis Director: Christophe Elie-Dit-Cosaque, Professor at Université Paris Dauphine-PSL.
Members of the panel: Prof. Nathalie Mitev, King’s College, London University; Prof. Jessie Pallud, EM Strasbourg, University of Strasbourg; Sébastien Damart, Professor at Université Paris Dauphine-PSL.
Content required for an Executive PhD thesis (formerly the EDBA)
- A management problem with a level of complexity that requires the use of a robust body of theory to accurately define the problem and the research questions.
- Numerous and specific references to academic literature, to situate the work and justify the scientific choices in relation to the existing body of knowledge.
- Clear explanation and justification of choices in relation to research methods.
- Presentation of the qualitative and/or quantitative data collected, as well as the results from data processing methods, and the conclusions that have been drawn from this.
- The emphasis on theoretical, managerial (for all types of organizations), didactic (in terms of how the theories that have been applied should be taught), and societal contributions.
- A list of the references that have been used to produce the work.
- Appendices to enable reviewers to assess the quality of the data and the data processing that has been carried out.
Executive PhD program duration
Undertaking the Executive PhD thesis is an intensive and challenging intellectual experience, that takes place over 3 years.
As the work involved in writing a thesis may need to be continued over a longer period of time, participants can (subject to authorization from the panel) re-enroll for a 4th and even a 5th year ((at an additional cost), which will enable them to have continued access to the University’s resources and benefit from the continued support of their Research Director.
Research Directors
The Executive PhD thesis is supervised by an Executive PhD research supervisor.
It is up to the participant and the Research Director to jointly determine the frequency of their meetings. It is advisable to meet approximately every 3 months for the duration of the program, i.e. around a dozen meetings over the course of the 3 years.
In addition, research professors from the Executive PhD program come together regularly for a departmental meeting, where they discuss best practices in relation to supervising participants’ theses, as well as the overall evolution and development of the program.
Do students have to seek a supervisor themselves?
The Directors of the Executive PhD nominate a Research Director for each participant. This will be proposed to them around 6 months prior to them joining the program. The choice of Research Director is based on the research project that has been outlined at that stage.
The Research Director is nominated on the basis of their skills and experience in supervising a thesis. A member of the current faculty at Université Paris Dauphine – PSL will usually fulfil this role, but it may also be that an external supervisor, such as a tenured professor from another higher education institution, is selected.
Géraldine Paring, Strategic Project Manager at a major Finance company and a graduate of the Dauphine-PSL EDBA (class 6), shares her experience of being a participant on the program and working with a research supervisor (you can view the video here or on YouTube).
Teaching Modalities
All the courses on the Dauphine-PSL Executive PhD are taught by research professors with a PhD in organizational and decision-making sciences, who are experts in their field and actively engaged in research. Sessions that are for the entire class are taught mainly in English, by bilingual professors. The rest of the courses are divided into sub-groups (French and English).
For the Executive PhD thesis, each participant is supervised by a research professor.
Participants will also give regular presentations throughout the project, leading up to the thesis defense stage.